


Hawks Eye View

by Kaz_b



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, S.W.A.T. (2003)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Hostage Situations, Pre-Avengers (2012), Undercover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaz_b/pseuds/Kaz_b
Summary: When Jim Street sees a familiar face on a job nobody believes him because dead men don’t start suddenly running around like Robin Hood.  So he gets curious.  But when it comes to the world that SHIELD exists in, curiosity can get you killed.  And the questions you ask can have repercussions on not just yourself but on others.  So Jim finds himself getting caught up in something he didn’t even know he was a part of and the only person he can trust is the dead man who betrayed him.
Kudos: 1





	Hawks Eye View

The day that had dawned bright had taken a turn for the worst. The sky had changed from a glimmering azure blue to a dull morose looking grey as the temperature plummeted. There was a storm rolling in. He could almost feel the thunder in the air getting ready to break. The weather seemed to reflect the mood of the dark-haired officer as he waited uncomfortably for the funeral to start. It was a funeral he never thought he would have to attend and if he did, it would have been under very different circumstances. There would have been family, friends and medals and he would have hated it. He felt weighed down by the emotions the day was bringing. He wasn’t even really sure why he was here, dressed in the only black suit he owned. He breathed deeply in the damp air as his skin itched in his suit. He imagined the cheeky smirk he would have got as he itched. It had been months since they had spoken as anything but enemies so he couldn’t even say he was just here to bid him farewell. He would just be lying to himself if he did. The truth was he knew something had been wrong from the start. He just couldn’t believe that it had taken him so long to notice. That it had taken until he was attending the mostly empty funeral of a previously decorated officer before he had really paid attention to that crawling, nagging sensation of discomfort that was more than just guilt for the mans’ death.

Officer Jim Street of LAPD SWAT had always had a feeling of unease concerning the downfall of one of SWAT’s best officers but he had dismissed it. He hadn’t trusted his judgement concerning his old partner the way he once had. Brian Gamble had been his partner and more importantly his greatest friend. They were so close he had thought of them as brothers and he had thought Brian had felt the same way. Brian’s subsequent actions placed that in doubt. He had told Brian things he hadn’t told anybody else. He had even told him about the things he had seen and done in the SEALs that still gave him nightmares. Jim had thought it was disappointment in that he hadn’t seen it coming that was causing his unease. Street had known the man had been a loose cannon but Brian had saved his life in the field. His partner had protected his back and he had protected his until he couldn’t anymore. A screaming, blood covered hostage shot by the guy supposed to be rescuing her just wasn’t something that could be hidden. He would never have given up his partner to the brass but he couldn’t cover that up either. He had been hurt that his long term partner thought that he would. But he couldn’t believe that Brian’s pride would have caused him to throw Jim to the wolves either. That he would leave him alone to deal with Fullers crap as he had attempted to salvage something of his career. But Brian had. He had left Jim to weather the gun cage alone. He had coped with the snide remarks and sneers by what had once been his colleagues. And he had faced the betrayal of his greatest friend.

Jim now considered that moment to be when Brian had started turning into Gamble. 

He could still remember the conversation that had escalated to violence in the locker room after Fuller had torn them apart. Most specifically the decision Brian had made to ignore the order to hold. Jim had defended Brian in Fullers office as the man had shredded Brian to pieces. Brian had seemed to ignore that fact and the hateful words that his partner had later spewed at Jim had hurt him deeply.

“You sound a lot like Fuller. Is that what you two were talking about in there? Did you rat me out? You cut a deal to get back on the team, Jimmy?”

“You just picked a pay check over me, bro.”

“I didn't end it. You sold me out to the brass.”

The words had been snarled at Jim and that was what hurt even more than getting his head violently slammed into the mirror behind him. They didn’t have to part as enemies, Jim didn’t want that, but it was Brian that ensured they had.

None of the rest of his team knew he was struggling with his actions at the train yard that night. He had managed to bull-shit his way through the mandatory psych evals and therapy enough to maintain his field clearance with SWAT. He had just told the shrinks enough of what they wanted to hear for them to clear him. He was SWAT. He didn’t show people his emotions and he damn well didn’t talk about them. But that night stayed with him. He still remembered the noise of breaking bones and crushed flesh as the train had rattled across Gambles destroyed body, leaving him a bloody, unidentifiable mess. Sanchez, Deeks and definitely not Boxer ever knew that he had even attended the funeral of the man he had accidentally killed. He did suspect Hondo had known but the man had never said anything about it. And it had been an accident. He hadn’t wanted the best friend he had since the SEALS to die. Even after the actions that had turned him into a criminal. Jim still wondered if there was something he could have done or said different that would have let the night have had a different ending. But he knew Brian had been backed into a corner and that he would have to fight his way out of it.

The rest of the team hadn’t understood the pain the man’s death had caused him. They had never met Brian. To them Brian had just been Gamble, the ex-SWAT turned criminal who had attempted to kill Boxer and led to McCabe’s betrayal and suicide. They only saw him at the end after his downward spiral had turned him from Brian into Gamble. Jim tried to think of him that way too. As Gamble. It had hurt less. But he hadn’t been able to force himself to forget Brian. It would have been easier if he could. They didn’t know that Brian had once been quick with a smile and had made him laugh. They didn’t know the Brian who he had played pool with, drank with and whose photograph was still on the wall of the local bar. They didn’t know the Brian who had taken in a vicious stray he found in an alley and gave the one eyed dog a bath, a home and named him Lucky. Who had stood next to him at his mothers’ funeral. They didn’t know the Brian that had gone with him to pick up the engagement ring that he picked out for Molly that, in the end, he never gave her. 

It was only after being responsible for the man’s gruesome death that Street was realizing how off Brian’s actions had been. He had been too hurt and angry at the time to notice. From the time in the bank right up until he had been lying dead on the tracks, he hadn’t been behaving like himself and now questions were forming in Streets mind. 

How was Boxer still alive for a start? Gamble had a stationary target that he had approached from behind. He had the element of surprise and he was at point blank range. The team had been told that considering where Boxer had been shot he was extremely lucky that he hadn’t bled out within minutes. A millimetre in any direction would have killed him. Instead, now Boxer was back to full strength, with nothing but a scar. As far as Street was concerned it would have been impossible for his ex-partner to miss a shot like that unless he had intended to. If Gamble had wanted Boxer dead, he would be. 

Why had he been so dismissive of Sanchez being in SWAT when they had met in the bar? Brian was a ladies man and was often seen flirting with random women but he was a charmer. Brian would never be derogatory towards any woman like he had been that night. As far as he was concerned kick ass was kick ass. He might just have been doing it to piss off Jim but that wasn’t really his style.

Why had there been so few people at his funeral? Brian had been popular with most people on the force. He had a ready smile and a cocky charm that people seemed to respond to and a manner that made people want to open up to him. Someone once said he was like everybody's big brother. Also, even though Brian hadn’t liked to talk about his time as a sniper for the Marines Jim knew he had kept in touch with the men and women he had served with. He had kept a picture of his full unit hanging on his wall the entire time Street had known him. He had even met up with some of them. But not a single one of them had shown up to his funeral. Brian’s old partner from before he was SWAT wasn’t there nor were any of the other cops he had worked with before he transferred to LA. He did know Fuller had tried to keep it quiet and not even the press had gotten hold of Gambles and TJ’s names. But cops talked and there is nothing cops like more than to gossip so it hadn’t stayed secret in the force for long. He knew both of Brian’s parents were dead but he also knew he had an older brother. They had a falling out years ago that Brian would not talk about but not turning up to your own brother’s funeral seemed a bit extreme, no matter the disagreement.

How had Brian ended up as Gamble? Brian was a lot more intelligent than most people gave him credit for. People tended to assume he was just another jarhead that liked to play with guns but Street knew that was far from the truth. Brian had a quick, sharp mind and despite what Fuller said he was a natural tactician in a fashion that couldn’t be taught. With his skills, record and intellect he could have found a much better use for his talents instead of teaming up with some small time criminals. Street didn’t understand why he had done it.

And how had Brian missed the shot that started it all? Gamble was a sniper. But he wasn’t just an ordinary sniper. He had been the best shot in the team if not the department and he had a steady hand and nerves of steel. So how had that hostage even been hit? It wouldn’t have been an easy shot for most shooters but it had been well within Brian’s ability to make without the hostage being hurt. Jim had seen him do it plenty of times before. Making impossible shots that no one else could was what he did. It didn’t make sense. 

Brian could be unpredictable on occasion and reckless in the field and Jim knew that. But he wasn’t sloppy. And. He. Did. Not. Miss. 

Ever. 

No matter what type of firearm came his way. Short range or long, it didn’t matter. The man simply did not miss.

Jim never got an answer to his questions but as he got further away from the events and the nightmares of that night stopped he had put it down to his own paranoia after the betrayal of his greatest friend. He had a great new team including Boxers replacement, Officer Li, his career was back on track and he had been in touch with Molly. Thanks to Boxer, who had decided not to return to SWAT, she hadn’t slammed the door in his face when he had turned up. They were taking things slowly but Jim had never returned that ring. Things were going well for him. 

And then the museum happened.


End file.
